Letter to the Editor: Please Use Your Words Carefully, Sheriff Snaza

Posted

When reading an article in the Dec. 29 edition of The Chronicle, I was amazed by the described behavior of Sheriff Rob Snaza. The duty of a sheriff is to enforce the law and the legal edicts of state and county government officials. Period. He cannot pick and choose. His job is to enforce the law and not editorialize about his personal beliefs when on the job. Everyone is concerned for the workers and owners of our fine restaurants like Spiffy’s. But it is the sheriff’s job to uphold the law and legal mandates. Sheriff Snaza, please do your job. 

Secondly, when he defies the advice of medical experts who have spent their entire lives studying health issues by not wearing a mask in public, he is doing a great disservice to the community. When he opens his mouth to speak, he will discharge an unseen aerosol plume, which can easily land on others and transmit a virus. It is his right to not wear a mask. But it is also his responsibility to wear one if he cares about others. So, Sheriff Snaza, please act responsibly.

Finally, a sheriff is a highly respected member of any community who has an outsized influence on its citizenry. When he issues a statement like, “don’t be a sheep” over a bullhorn, it may have the unintended consequence of inflaming unstable elements. 

Heaven knows, we don’t need any more of that in these volatile times. So, Sheriff Snaza, please choose your words in public very carefully. We all need you to do the very important work of enforcing the law in Lewis County.



 

Erik Dahl

Centralia